Tarikshir: The Awakening by Khayaal Patel

The Blurb:

A small princely state in Rajasthan is the last bastion of resistance against the might of the British Empire. While unrest surrounding the sudden death of the king of Devangarh grows, young prince Rudra Pratap Chauhan prepares to ascend the throne.

But the kingdom is in turmoil. The Devangarh army is outnumbered and the British forces are closing in. To make matters worse, Rudra discovers the king’s death may not have been accidental after all. The strange appearance and disappearance of a mysterious hooded stranger and a series of ritualistic murders in which the bodies have been drained of blood, spread panic across the realm.

As Rudra struggles to manage his new responsibilities and investigate his father’s death, dark secrets will be uncovered that will disrupt life as he knows it.

The Book:

The moment my kiddo looked at the cover, he asked me if I was reading a ghost story. I smiled and told him that yes it's kind of that. He innocently told me not to read it before bed or I would have nightmares. Believe me, I gave it a thought as I read the first few pages.

The book along with mysterious creatures has a little of British rulers and the Rajput’s. There is one section where the characters discuss about Bharat being ruled by individual kings in different regions and the Englishmen being just British. I honestly think that this was the major reason of our country - despite being filled with brave and smart rulers, was ruled by someone else. They got it right - divide and rule. And they did it for over a century. So, there are a few learning here and there in the book about Good VS evil and a little history of India.

I Liked:

1. The Beginning: The prologue is so well written and truly sets the mood of reader. The very first pages was the reason I built up high expectations from the book.

2. Fantasy told simple: The language and flow of writing is very simple and can be easily understood by new readers as well.

I did not like:

1. Slow Pace: While the prologue set high expectations, I was disappointed from the first half of the book. Initially I kept my patience and waited for the actual plot to take shape, but then, half of the book had passed!

2. Confusing: While nothing much happened in the first half, the second half had too many revelations and back to back unfolding of various mysteries. For me, at many times, there was too much to divulge into and I lost track or to say it better, not able to grasp it all a few times - specially the end.

I enjoyed reading about the mythological era - and I do not care to find out if its perfection or true as per mythology. The last chapter was icing on cake - I was laughing and I am not sure if I found it funny or amusing, but yes, I liked that part.

At the end, I had mixed feelings towards the book. I liked it and at the same time, I did not like it enough. So, for me, it was an average read.

The book is available at amazon from below links: